Jaden by Tijan
A LETTER TO THE READER
To the reader,
This is such a hard letter for me to write, but I felt it was necessary and also because Jaded was so near and dear to my heart. One of the reasons this is so difficult is because this is my own goodbye to this series and the other is because I want you, the readers, to know that I feel for those who wanted Sheldon with Bryce. When I write my books, I usually send it off sporadically to get an idea of what people’s reactions will be, but I didn’t with this one. I had to keep it quiet because of the love triangle and who Sheldon chose so to be honest, I’m not sure how this book will really be received, but I knew that no matter the outcome, I had to write it from my heart.
I never wanted to write this love triangle. I really didn’t. In my heart, Sheldon was with Bryce and that was who she would always end up with, but in the middle of Still Jaded, I realized there was a love triangle there whether I wanted it there or not. I remember the night I realized this. I got up and walked away from my computer. I was upset. I didn’t want to do this to readers, but the connection Sheldon had with Corrigan couldn’t be denied. I couldn’t suppress it or write around it. I felt this would be a huge injustice to the characters in this series and a huge injustice to Corrigan, who I respect so much as a character so…I wrote it. I wrote what was in my heart.
When I finished Still Jaded, Bryce was still Sheldon’s first choice. I think this love triangle was a big reason why I kept putting off finishing Jaden. I wrote Jadeite and abandoned it. I didn’t like what I was writing and then the first two chapters of Jaden were produced. I loved it. It was strong. It was Sheldon to the core, but again, I put it off. I think a part of this was because I had no idea who she would choose. I still thought she would be with her first love, Bryce, but I was so conflicted. I really had no idea and then my writing career took off and I was writing other books, but Jaden was always in the back of my mind (like how Davina Comes is too).
So I scheduled a pre-order for a year in advance and I knew I would have time to really mull over how this book was going to go. Well….I was an idiot. I have outlined this book eight different times and with eight different endings. Every time I tried to write Jaden and follow the outline, it wouldn’t. Those characters had a mind of themselves so all those outlines were thrown into the trashcan.
The only thing I knew from the beginning was that Mena was the real stalker. That’s it. It wasn’t until I was half way done with Jaden that I knew who she had to choose. And I couldn’t bring her to choose Bryce because I wasn’t feeling it. In my heart, her love for Corrigan is a different type of love than what she had with Bryce. Corrigan makes Sheldon a better person. Bryce was her first love and a part of Sheldon will always love him in that way, but it wasn’t the deep love she has for Corrigan. Corrigan is her future while Bryce was her past.
The other reason for this letter is because I love the Jaded series so much. This book was a big factor that gave me hope for a writing future. It kept me going. I wrote Jaded, Home Torn, and Sentiment Lost all at the same time in my life. It was when I had to decide if I was going to sacrifice a job with a stable income for a possible future in writing. To me, I felt like a coward. I felt that I was choosing to hide in my stories instead of being the ‘adult’ and stepping down a career path that would take me away from writing. When I commit, I give my whole heart and if I had chosen the other path, I would’ve given my whole heart and focus to it, and during that time when I had to make this decision, I remember writing a chapter of Jaded. I posted it to Fictionpress and I drove up to see some friends that evening. I checked my email that evening and saw a flood of comments. That was when I realized people were actually reading and they were invested in this story. I don’t know if Jaded was the ultimate reason I chose to purse writing, but seeing that response was a factor that helped.
So with this letter, I just wanted to express that I really do feel for the Bryce shippers. I don’t want you to feel that I wrote this and published, not giving a care. I do. I really do and all I can say is that I hope you still loved the story. I wrote this book for you guys and I hope you loved the journey as much as I did. Thank you from the very bottom of my heart!
Love, Tijan
